The present disclosure relates to a display/input device including a display section and a touch panel and an image forming apparatus including such a display/input device.
Electronic hardware capable of transmitting data may have a function called an address book so that the address or number of a destination can be set by only selecting one of destinations displayed as candidates. For example, the names of the destinations and their corresponding addresses, numbers and/or groups are input in advance in the electronic hardware. A storage section (e.g., an embedded memory) of the electronic hardware stores the names of the destinations and a variety of information corresponding to the names of the destinations. The user specifies a destination to which data is to transmit among displayed destinations to call up the stored address or number of the specified destination.
For example, some hardware (a mobile terminal) includes a display section, a control section, a touch panel, and a storage section. The storage section stores telephone book data. The control section executes first processing that allows a first display region in a display screen to display tubs, in which the initial Hiragana characters of the respective rows in the Japanese syllabary are displayed. Then, the control section executes second processing that allows the display screen to display, when it is detected that touch to an area corresponding to any one of the tubs continues over a predetermined time period, a pull-down tub that displays the character displayed in the tub and the subsequent characters belonging to the row of the character. Further, when it is detected that the touched point moves from the tub to the pull-down tub, and then, an area of any of the characters displayed in the pull-down tub is touched up, the control section executes third processing to read out data, which bears the characters at the touch-up area and characters following the touched-up character as initial characters, from the telephone book and to allow the display screen to display the data. With this configuration, operation relating to search for the telephone book can be easily and suitably performed with the advantages of the touch panel gained.
For example, image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, multifunction peripherals, printers, facsimile machines, etc. are also provided with an operation panel including a combination of a panel for display and a touch panel. Further, an operation panel fixed to an image forming apparatus may also store in advance plural pieces of address information, each piece of which is a combination of a destination name and destination information indicating the number and address corresponding to the destination name.
The operation panel of the image forming apparatus may display plural pieces of address information in a listed fashion (address book function). After the user searches a destination to which data is to transmit and allows to it to be displayed, the user touches a display area of the desired destination for selection of the destination. This enables setting of the address and number of the destination without input of the corresponding address and number necessitated.